It's certainly been a minute hasn't it? The last post I wrote, I (correctly) predicted the Oilers would beat the LA Kings in 6 games. And then Edmonton went on to lose to the eventual Stanley Cup champs for the 2nd year in a row, as they were ousted by Vegas in 6 games in Round 2. A disappointing end to a rather successful Oilers season that saw multiple players record new career highs in goals, assists and points, a club that had 50 wins on the year, and a team that's on the cusp of glory. As such, I wanted to do a count of my top-10 favourite moments from this past season. So what's going to be on this list? Anything that I felt was a feel-good moment, or a milestone achievement essentially. So with all of that said, join me as I count down my top-10 favourite moments from the 2022-2023 Oilers season.
#10: Jack Campbell's save on Victor Ardvisson - Game 4
Look, it's no secret that Jack Campbell's first season as an Oiler didn't go so well. A few good moments here and there, but overall, he wasn't good. Whether it be bad goals or bad games, Campbell did cost the Oilers a few points in the standings. However, this moment right here, was probably his best as an Oiler. Let's set the scene here. It's game 4 between the Oilers and Kings. LA has a 2-1 series lead and in Games 1 & 3, the officiating had screwed over Edmonton in one way or another. LA capitalized on Edmonton's tentativeness, quickly jumping out to a 3-0 lead. Campbell would replace Skinner in the 2nd, as Edmonton clawed their way back and notched it up at 3. Then, less than 5 minutes into the 3rd, Matt Roy would give the Kings a 4-3 lead. And then with 5:48 left in the game, Victor Ardvisson got a breakaway, and Jack Campbell ROBBED him with the left pad. To call this a game-saving save is an understatement. This was a season-saving save from Jack. Because thanks to this save, Evander Kane would tie it up at 4, and Zach Hyman would win it in overtime. Edmonton would go on to DOMINATE game 5 and then win in game 6 (which I'll cover shortly) to take the series in 6 games.
#9: Jack Campbell's shutout vs Anaheim - April 1st 2023
Continuing with Jack for a second here, on April 1st, the Oilers had a date with the Anaheim Ducks in Edmonton. Campbell got the start in the game and, as usual by that point, Oil Country was moaning and groaning. However that panic quickly turned to praise. Jack was nothing short of phenomenal in that game, especially in the 1st period where the Ducks were the better team by a country mile. Sure Jack got lucky once or twice, but he had a solid game that allowed the Oilers to pick up their feet, get to work, and skate to a 6-0 W. More on this game shortly.
#8: Stuart Skinner shutout vs LA - March 30 2023
Now I couldn't mention the Jack Campbell shutout, without also mentioning Stu Skinny's shutout one game earlier. For the longest time last season, it seemed like the Oilers were destined to not shutout an opponent at any point in the season. As the season wound down, the Oilers were one of 4 teams to not record a shutout win that season. And then boom! B2B shutouts against LA and Anaheim. This one was slightly more important though because of the playoff atmosphere it had. And Skinner was brilliant, making key and timely saves all night, capped off by goals from Kane and McDavid. An absolute BANGER of a game.
#7: Kailer Yamamoto's series winning goal - Game 6
Game 6 between Edmonton and LA was crazy. Edmonton built a 3-1 lead, LA tied it up, Edmonton made it 4-3 (after Skinner was run behind the Oilers net btw), and then on a PK, Phillip Danault got lucky when Skinner's broken stick caused him to whiff on a pass, thus giving him an EN goal. It was a back and forth affair that seemed destine for overtime. But with 3:30 left, the Oilers went to work in the O-zone and Kailer Yamamoto remembered that playoff hockey is crazy and you should always put the puck on net. Well he throws it on net, it goes in, and the Oilers would hang on to win the game 5-4, and the series 4-2.
#6: Oilers go 18-2-1 after acquiring Matthias Ekholm - March 1 2023-April 13 2023
As the season wore on, the Edmonton Oilers came to the realization that more defensive help was needed on the backend. For the most part, they were doing decently in this department, but it was clear an upgrade was needed. Rumours circulated around the NHL as the Oilers checked in on guys like Erik Karlsson, Vladislav Gavrikov, but on February 28th, the Oilers made their choice. Gone were Tyson Barrie, Reid Schaefer, a first and fourth, and in were Matthias Ekholm and a 6th. Ekholm's impact was felt immediately. The Oilers would play 21 games with Ekholm in the lineup (regular season) and proved to be a key member of the backend. Contributing 4 goals, and 10 assists in his 21 games, Ekholm not only provided stability to the back-end but also allowed Evan Bouchard to become a better player. Best part is, he's still signed for another couple of years.
#5: Leon Draisitl scores 50 goals - April 1st 2023
Look, we're all used to Leon scoring 50 goals by now. He's already done it three times in his career, and the only two other times he could've done it (2020 and 2021), forces outside of his control prevented him from doing so. Now normally, I wouldn't bring this up. Guy does something three times, it's not a milestone achievement. However what made this particular time so special, was that it was done on home ice. Leon's first 50 goal campaign came in 2018-2019 where he scored goal #50 in Game 82 vs Calgary (in Calgary), and his second came in 2021-2022 where he scored goal #50 against the Anaheim Ducks (in Anaheim). This time though, it was in Edmonton and it was fan-freaking-tastic to see. I can officially declare Leon Draisitl a 50-gaol scorer.
#4: Nuge hits 100 points - April 5th 2023
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has dealt with his fair share of shit in Edmonton, probably more so than any player currently playing right now. Multiple seasons of failure where Edmonton was a joke, many coaches and gm's who couldn't do the job right, members of a fanbase that probably demanded he be traded a long time ago. Yup, Nuge has dealt with it all. And yet, he's never complained, never whined, never even demanded a trade. He's just kept his head down and done his job. So when he was threatening the century mark this year, we were all rooting for him. And when he finally did it, it was incredible. Nobody deserved this more than Nuge and I was so happy for him! I don't care if he ever does it again, he's in the history books.
#3: Connor McDavid's 50th goal - February 27th 2023
There's not much I can say about Connor McDavid that hasn't already been said. The dude is absolutely incredible, ridiculous, otherworldly, and fantaboulous. He has the incredible ability to take over a game in ways I haven't seen anyone else, or at least not as consistently as him. Like with Nuge, when we realized he could hit 50 goals, we were rooting for him to do so, and he did. And not only that, he did in the fastest time since Lemeuix in 1995-1996, beating out ALL of Ovi's 50 goal campaigns, and Matthews; 50 goals last year. A truly elite player that WILL win a cup with Edmonton.
#2: Connor McDavid's 60th goal - March 22, 2023
Evidently, Connor wasn't satisfied with scoring 50 goals. He saw all of LeafsNation celebrating Matthews hitting 60 the year before and said to himself "rookie numbers", going off and potting 64 himself. But we're not here to celebrate 64 goals, we're here to celebrate 60. And he did. In a game against the Arizona Coyotes, McDavid was sitting at 58 goals on the year and he got one to make it 59. Then in OT, McDavid gets, not one, but TWO breakaways in OT. He flubs the first one, slams his stick against the boards in frustration, then immediately gets a pass from Leon, does the same move he did the first time, but this time he buries it for his 60th goal of the season. And incredible season from and incredible player. But, he wasn't done yet. No, no, no.
#1: Connor McDavid's 150th point - April 8th 2023
Look, we knew Connor McDavid was going to incredible when he was drafted into the NHL. But I don't think anybody, ANYBODY could've seen this coming. When you think about scoring in the modern day, compared to the 80's it's like night and day. Oh sure, players are grabbing 100pt seasons left, right, and center, but their limit is usually 110-130 points. Only 6, count them SIX, players in NHL HISTORY have hit the 150 point mark, or greater, and now Connor is one of them. Best part is, all the others played in the 80's and 90's, not in the 2020's like Connor is. It really felt like this past season was a statement season from Connor. It's like he grabbed the league and hockey writers by the neck and said, "you've forgotten what I'm capable of", and I think this is his response to Matthews winning the Hart and Lindsey last year, just because he was better than Connor at ONE thing. I don't care if he doesn't do this ever again, NOBODY can take this away from him.
And there we have it. My top-10 favourite moments from last year. What were yours? Let me know and I'll see you in the season preview!
